Mertz also was acquitted on charges of criminal vehicular operation and reckless driving. The only charge she was convicted of was careless driving, a misdemeanor.

The charges stemmed from a collision in Inver Grove Heights that killed 30-year-old Brittany Beth Carlson of Zumbrota, her 2-year-old son, Brandon, and 4-year-old Tamaya Phillips of Minneapolis. Two other children in Carlson’s vehicle were seriously injured.